Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday here in the U.S., which means it's Paczki Day. What's a Paczki? Paczki (pronounced "poonch-key") are a yeast donut that usually have a filling and some sort of sweet coating or glaze. In Poland, I believe that rose jam is the most traditional filling. In Michigan, there are a lot of variations, most of which are different fruit fillings, but some are cream filled as well. You can also find paczki that are covered with either powdered sugar, granulated sugar, or glaze. It is my understanding that it is most common in Poland to have them glazed. Serving Paczki is a Polish tradition, which is very much celebrated in this area in Michigan at this time of year. I am not Polish, but I live in a Polish neighborhood, and I love donuts, so it doesn't take much convincing to get me on board with adopting this tradition for myself. In Poland, paczki are enjoyed on Fat Thursday, which would have been last Thursday, but in the U.S.A. we celebrate Fat Tuesday tomorrow as the last day before Lent begins. (Although since the only thing I feel like giving up for Lent is folding laundry, I guess I don't really need to binge eat donuts tomorrow but I will for the sake of tradition.)
For my Paczki, I chose to fill them with Raspberry Rhubarb Jam, because it's my favorite and the sweet/tart combo works really well in a sweet pastry dough like these. I originally planned to glaze all of my paczki, but I did a few with granulated sugar and a few with powdered sugar and I actually preferred them when coated with granulated sugar, so I changed my plan.
A few tips when making your own donuts at home:
1. You don't need any fancy equipment other than a pan and a Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer
2. Use caution when working with hot oil. Don't fill the pot to the top with oil...leave plenty of extra room for splattering.
3. Wear an apron.
4. Monitor the oil temperature closely. If the oil gets too hot, the donuts will brown long before the insides are cooked through. If the oil is not hot enough, the dough will soak up too much oil and your donuts will be greasy.
5. Sharing is nice, but not required. :)
Paczki (Fat Tuesday Donuts)
- Yield: About 24 paczki 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk, heated to 110 degrees F
- 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- pinch granulated sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Peanut oil, for frying
- Fruit jam for filling, if desired
- Additional granulated sugar or confectioners's sugar for coating
Instructions
- Stir together the warm milk, yeast, and pinch of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let rest 10 minutes until bubbly.
- Stir in 2 cups of the flour until smooth. Cover and let rest in a warm, draft-free area for 30 minutes until risen. (In the oven with the light on works well in the cold months.)
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks together until light yellow and foamy. Add sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue whisking until smooth.
- Add the egg mixture to the mixer bowl with the dough. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and mix on low speed until combined. Add the cooled melted butter and continue mixing until combined. Add 3 cups of flour (5 cups total at this point) and mix until a dough comes together. It will be very sticky and soft. Add up to 1 additional cup of flour if needed to form the dough.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. let rise until doubled in size (Mine took about 35 minutes.)
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and gently roll dough into a large rectangle about ½-inch thick. (Be sure the dough is not more than ½-inch thick or it will be too dense and won't cook through when frying.)
- Cut dough into rounds using a 3-inch biscuit cutter (a clean leftover tuna can works well too). Arrange dough rounds on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
- In a large pot or skillet with tall sides, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. (You only need about 2 inches of oil.)
- Fry paczki in batches of about 4 until bottom of dough is a deep golden brown before flipping and frying until top is deep golden also. Be sure to allow the oil to return to 350 degrees before adding another batch. Drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet.
- To fill the paczki: Poke a hole in the side of each paczki with a straw or skewer. Fill a piping bag with your desired fruit filling and squeeze about 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the hole in each paczki.
- Toss in granulated sugar (or confectioners' sugar) if desired.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Note: Monitor oil temperatures carefully and use caution when working with hot oil. If oil is too hot the dough will brown before the inside is cooked through. If not hot enough the donuts will turn out greasy.
June Burns
Those look wonderful! I've never tried paczki but I can imagine that they are delicious... :)
CakePants
Wow, I'm impressed that you made paczki from scratch - they look amazing!! I'd never heard of paczki before moving to Michigan, but I have to say, it quickly became one of my favorite regional traditions :)
Polish girl
Hi just wanted to say that paczki are actually eaten on Fat Thursday not Tuesday:-), it is the last Thursday before the lent begins. They look amazing though. We also add a shot of vodka to the though it helps not to soak too much oil while deep frying.
Polish girl
I meant to write 'dough' not 'though' in last sentence :-)
Mandy
Hi Polish Girl, If you read the post carefully you will see that I did explain the tradition of Fat Thursday. Here in Michigan however, paczki are eaten on Fat Tuesday. Thanks for reading!